When I started birding, I would write down the birds I could identify. I remember sitting on a friend’s back deck, binoculars in hand, as I wrote down the birds I saw while we talked. I quickly realized I needed a better system for keeping track.
I started looking online and found lots of printed options for keeping track of birds sighted, but each one seemed to be labor-intensive. So, I asked Craig Taylor about the best way to keep track. He sent me an excel template he had created that had every bird found in North America on it. Not only is it easy to use, but the document tabulates the results for me. All I do is mark down if the bird is seen on our property, in our state, or outside our state. It’s incredible easy, practical and works for me.
As we approached the beginning of 2021, I realized I was going to have to start over with a brand-new list for tracking birds. That’s both exciting and overwhelming. We’ve worked at birding this year. We’ve seen a lot of birds. The idea of starting with a blank slate is kind of daunting.
On the other hand, the list I’ve used for 2020 will become my life list. I’ll be able to add new birds, birds I’ve never seen before, to that life list. Birders refer to these new birds as “lifers” because they go on the cumulative list. And they only count on that list once.
It’s definitely a moment to start over and continue on.
That’s life, really. Every year, every day, every moment we have the opportunity to start over and to continue on. Life is the culmination of our life experiences, but we constantly have the opportunity to start over, to reset, to do better, and to continue on.
I haven’t made a New Year’s Resolution in years. I never keep them, and usually don’t even start them. But I start over every day and I continue on every moment. That may be enough.
